DC is eliminating the six-day exclusivity window Direct Market comic book shops had on original graphic novels and collections over stores in the book trade market. This will create day-and-date concurrent release windows for DC product across its three primarily distribution channels – the Direct Market, book trade, and digital.
The publisher explained in an email to Direct Market retailers that the policy was changed to “eliminate costumer confusion about when titles are on sale and to sync up our marketing efforts across all channels.”
For example, prior to now an OGN like Teen Titans: Raven or a collection like Mister Miracle would be available from comic book stores on a Wednesday, with book trade accounts like Barnes & Noble prohibited from selling it until six days later on the following Tuesday.
This is one of several distribution changes DC has implimented during the COVID-19 pandemic, including expanding to a multi-distributor model in the Direct Market after 25 years of being exclusive to Diamond, switching to Tuesday on-sale dates for comic shops, and offering daily ‘Digital First’ releases.